Sharing my drama reviews, rants and opinions

Thoughts on Shark, Episode 5-8

Now that I have literally nothing to watch since i have to wait for other ongoing dramas to air the next episodes (CRUEL CITY, I need you), I’ve decided to catch up on Shark in one go. It’s still relatively slow but I tried to slow down my own pace and tune into the same frequency. Once you do that, the drama is much more beautiful and melancholic. The scenes are breath-taking as usual and they have this vibe of nostalgia mixed with overwhelming sadness. Okay, that sounds depressing but KNG makes it all okay again 😀 The case is still going at snail-speed for me but episode 7 and 8 probably made most progress. I understand that if they revealed Kim Joon as Yi Soo earlier on, there would be no story to continue into further episodes. If this was a J-dorama, things would pick up speed and fillers would be cut out. Which makes a better viewing experience. However, I think this drama really requires you to just sit back and absorb all the staring and sadness.

KNG has really little dialogues but his eye-staring really delivers emotions and it’s …just amazing. How he looks at people says a lot about what he thinks. I just think that he’s too affected by his love for Hae Woo, I doubt he can complete his revenge, as all hero of makjangs face. It still baffles me that his purpose for revenge is easily wavered by what most people consider as puppy-love. Then, there is the issue of Hae Woo, who is married to a loving man(I feel sorry for you, Joon Young), yet still holds on to memories of her first love. For some viewers, it’s ridiculous and immature, but this is a DRAMA. Anything is possible. I think deep down, Hae Woo doesn’t love her husband, she just chose him since they are childhood friends and she trusts him. With Yi Soo, she felt love and for her, that memory persists.

The investigation on Yi Soo is quite childish I think. It’s like a detective and a prosecutor being led on a treasure hunt and it lacks suspense. Obviously, we know that Yi Soo is behind all that and he’s always watching so it’s an unfair game. Shark aims to be mysterious in this plot line but I can’t be bothered about keys that don’t have matching numbers. It really makes you feel that Hae Won isn’t competent until episode 8. Good god, something finally hits her head and she figures it out. It’s still slow but the tension is building slightly. Just that teeny bit.

The symbolism of Chagall’s Orpheus painting depicts how Yi Soo becomes like Orpheus. If he looks back, he will lose everything. It’s actually a very poignant metaphor and it fits right into the situation. And in being Orpheus, Yi Soo becomes Hae Woo’s ideal man( She mentioned it before). Of course we cannot miss the shark metaphor, thrown in our faces every single episode. Should have seen that coming. Despite using sharks as metaphor, I think the impression they want to illustrate is actually sharks are sad, lonely creatures instead of vicious and beastly. We have to adjust our mind set and perceptions as to what sharks are to understand the themes of the drama.

I’ve seen the preview for ep. 9 and apparently Hae Woo is STILL trying to prove that Kim Joon is Yi Soo. Episode 8 is giving false alerts but I hope improvements can be seen in the next episode, especially on Hae Woo’s character. I feel like questioning their intelligence and head desk sometimes. Not that it’s her fault but if the script wants it slow, bring it on.

I have Jiu Lu Fei Xiang's and Lin Jiacheng's express consents to translate Sansheng, Wangchuan Wu Shang and Mei Gongqing for non-commercial purposes. It is illegal to take my translations outside hamster428 without prior consent or to receive any monetary gains from them.